Chapter 67: Unique Taste
As they descended three more flights of narrow stone stairs, a damp passageway came into view.
True to its underground nature, the air hung heavy and stagnant.
The moisture-soaked stone walls had turned pitch-black, and the torches embedded in them flickered, casting an eerie glow.
The moment they sensed a presence, swarms of insects scattered from cracks in the walls and floor.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The passage was wide enough for three men to walk abreast.
Jin Muhon and Gwak Woong led the way, followed silently by dozens of Paewangbang ronin.
Jin Muhon extended his senses.
At the far end of the passage, he felt a presence cloaked in darkness, its killing intent suppressed.
"What is this place?"
Jin Muhon spoke as he walked.
"It was where the Alliance Lord held meetings when he was alive."
"Meetings?"
"Yes. There are several such passages beneath Wuhan. They all lead to the central meeting hall."
Jin Muhon nodded at Gwak Woong's explanation.
He had wondered how the Four Emperors Alliance headquarters had survived in such a large city. It seemed they had evaded notice by hiding in places like this.
"Someone must have caught on."
"Caught on? No way. We didn't, and the Lord never bothered with prying eyes in his lifetime. He'd tell the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families to come at him if they dared. If anything, they were the ones watching us."
Gwak Woong's words echoed what Ak Manho had said before.
The alliance of the world's unorthodox factions, the Four Emperors Alliance.
The righteous Murim Alliance couldn't touch them—not just because of their collective strength, but above all, because of the absolute power of their leader, Dan Ri-ye.
That raised a question in Jin Muhon's mind.
"Then why hide underground like this?"
"Ah, is that what you meant? It wasn't hiding so much as the Lord's taste."
"Taste?"
"That guy hated light for some odd reason. Said he felt at ease without it."
Gwak Woong's lips curled into a faint smile, as if recalling memories of Dan Ri-ye.
'Hates light...'
Unlike Jin Muhon, Dan Ri-ye had refined ghostly energy into his inner power.
That might have been the reason.
"Well, everyone in the jianghu knew the Lord was an odd one. That was hardly the strangest thing about him."
"What was so strange?"
"Huh? You're his successor and you don't know?"
Gwak Woong turned to look at Jin Muhon.
Jin Muhon met his gaze with impassive eyes.
Confirming that look, Gwak Woong nodded quickly.
"That expression seals it—you're definitely the Lord's heir. Makes sense; kindred spirits wouldn't see each other's quirks. Ah! So you must be a bit off in the head too?"
Gwak Woong twirled a finger beside his temple.
Jin Muhon furrowed his brow slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"Come on, the Lord had his weird moments. Childlike one day, like a stern monk the next. Yesterday he'd seem enlightened, today like a brothel girl."
"......"
Those who mastered the Fate Soul Heaven Sacrificing Scripture went mad.
Dan Ri-ye must have been affected too, despite his words.
Suddenly, Jin Muhon recalled the Dan Ri-ye he had seen in his Sword Demon days.
Back then, he had been as imposing as the Heavenly Demon.
That must have been just one of his many faces.
"And yet you followed him?"
Gwak Woong tilted his head at Jin Muhon's way of referring to Dan Ri-ye but didn't find it too strange.
In his eyes, both were equally unhinged.
"He was odd, sure, but he was always on our side."
"Is that reason enough for scum like you to follow him?"
Gwak Woong grinned and glanced back.
The ronin followed quietly, their faces and bodies covered in scars, as befitted wanderers.
"A ronin's life ain't easy. Selling your sword for coin means you never know when you'll die. Hell, plenty croak right after a job succeeds."
"Why? Money too precious to lose?"
"Heh heh heh. You get it. Going to the outhouse and coming back ain't the same mindset."
When you wield a sword, a knife in the back is commonplace.
Jin Muhon himself had lost everything that way.
"So what? How does that connect to him?"
Gwak Woong halted abruptly.
Jin Muhon stopped and looked at him.
Illuminated by the flickering torchlight, Gwak Woong's face was more serious than ever.
"He avenged our dead comrades for us."
"......"
"Not just us. All the weak, the downtrodden—they found release through him. The aggrieved are always the powerless. He was the only one who risked his life for us."
His tone was flat, but emotion filled Gwak Woong's face.
For his burly build, he had deeply respected Dan Ri-ye in life.
Jin Muhon nodded in understanding.
But the thought in his mind was different.
'Revenge my ass. He needed the ghostly energy.'
Like the Jin brothers, Dan Ri-ye must have needed resentful spirits to bolster his inner energy.
He probably avenged them as a side benefit, winning loyalty in the process.
"Not everyone loved the Lord, of course. Some grumbled. The Gusa Gok bunch, for one."
"Gusa Gok... the assassins?"
"Yeah. He kept them in line but disapproved of their ways. Guess killing for pay rubbed him wrong."
Jin Muhon chuckled.
"Killing's killing, isn't it?"
"Heh heh. Spoken like the Lord's heir. True enough. He never punished the Gusa Gok much. But while he lived, even they toed the line. They at least picked their jobs carefully."
"Not anymore, I take it."
Gwak Woong nodded gravely.
"Now they kill anyone for the right price. And with you popping up claiming to be the new Four Emperor... they won't accept you easily."
"Seems that way."
Jin Muhon stared ahead.
Gwak Woong followed suit.
Far down the passage, the torches had gone out, replaced by murky darkness filling the way.
"These bastards... no way..."
Gwak Woong's eyes gleamed.
"Let's go."
Jin Muhon resumed walking.
Gwak Woong and the Paewangbang ronin followed with heavy expressions.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed off the walls.
The pitch-black darkness loomed like a barrier before them.
The heavy air reeked of sticky killing intent.
Gwak Woong stopped and shouted.
"Hey! It's Gwak Woong! I'm here with the Four Emperor! Step aside if you don't wanna die!"
The killing intent in the darkness writhed like tentacles.
- Kekeke. Gwak Bangju. The world's greatest ronin bending the knee to some unknown without a pedigree?
A voice like scraping metal reverberated through the passage.
Gwak Woong scowled and replied.
"That you, Bugokju? Paewangbang recognizes this man as Four Emperor. So get lost. We're taking him to the meeting hall."
Recognizing Jin Muhon as Four Emperor must have been unexpected.
Silence fell over the passage for a moment.
- Can't do that. I have my orders.
The Gusa Gok showed no sign of backing down.
- If he's truly the Four Emperor... prove it.
"How dare you! Have you lost your mind, you assassin scum?!"
Gwak Woong drew his sword and stepped forward.
The Paewangbang ronin surged ahead, blocking Jin Muhon.
Jin Muhon watched their backs leisurely.
Their muscles tensed, their boiling fighting spirit pushing back the killing intent.
Gwak Woong hadn't been at full strength after all.
"Same here."
Jin Muhon stepped forward.
The ronin quickly parted.
"It's dangerous. We'll clear the way."
Jin Muhon smirked at Gwak Woong's protest and drew the Four Emperors Sword.
The pitch-black blade melted into the darkness, exuding a chilling aura.
"No need."
"...What?"
Shing—!
Jin Muhon swung lightly.
The sword qi sliced through the air, raking the stone walls in the darkness.
Slash! Spurt—!
"......!"
"......!"
A thick stench of blood wafted from the shadows.
Jin Muhon coldly regarded the assassins clinging to the walls, ceiling, and floor.
Perfect concealment that would have been hard to spot even before his bone refinement.
Unlike Paewangbang, Gusa Gok had come to kill him.
No need to hold back, then.
"Right. Assassins should keep quiet. Try this on for size."
Jin Muhon moved his sword swiftly.
A horizontal slash, then vertical. Dozens of strokes in the blink of an eye. Sword qi overlapped into a net, spreading out.
Even watching up close, Gwak Woong and the ronin couldn't track it.
Swoooosh—
A chilling sound filled the passage.
Gwak Woong cried out in alarm.
"S-Sword Screen!!"
"What? You can use Sword Screen like that?!"
Sword Screen.
A supreme technique spreading sharp sword qi wide to defend against attacks.
Most couldn't even manifest sword qi—imagine the inner energy and sword mastery required.
A realm beyond the ronin's wildest dreams.
"D-Dodge!!"
Splaaaat—!
The Bugokju's roar erupted.
The hidden assassins leaped out.
The Sword Screen accelerated, sweeping the darkness.
"Kaaack!"
"Gahk!"
"Uwaaa!!"
Even in death, the assassins' screams broke their silence.
Mangled flesh rained to the floor.
Gwak Woong whipped around to his men.
"Torches! Torches! Hurry!"
"Ah! Yes!"
The ronin yanked torches from the walls and advanced.
"Urk!"
"Guh!"
The floor was littered with gruesomely scattered human chunks.
The acrid blood stench stung their noses; red blood soaked the cold stone warmly.
Splash. Splash. Splash.
Jin Muhon stepped over it nonchalantly.
Gwak Woong and the ronin shuddered, staring at his retreating back.
"F-Four... Emperor..."
Overwhelming.
Even the Lord hadn't punished like this.
Fwhoosh!
"Huh?!"
While the ronin were dazed, someone burst from the wall, ambushing Jin Muhon.
He swung the Four Emperors Sword casually.
Slash—
Something rolled to Gwak Woong's feet with a thud-thud.
They looked down.
It was the Bugokju's head, eyes bulging wide.
Gulp.
Gwak Woong swallowed and spoke quietly.
"Who... said to fight with fists?"
A low voice rose from the ronin.
"...Me."
Gwak Woong turned to the speaker.
His eyes held deep relief.
"Good call. We'd have ended up like that otherwise."
"Aigoo. We nearly got fucked."
"Yeah."
"This Four Emperor seems way scarier than the last."
Gwak Woong nodded.
"Watch yourselves."
"Yes!"
Then, a low voice echoed from the darkness.
"You coming?"
"Yes! Right away!"
Gwak Woong and the ronin rushed forward.
Before long, even Gwak Woong's speech had turned polite.